TERN-601 dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
People lost weight on it in two studies, and more at higher doses. Then it was dropped after three people had liver test changes that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug.
Evidence grade for TERN-601: Limited. The rule: people have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. The sum on this page: 1 completed trial, 3 people given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 3
- Human studies
- 1
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
1 completed trial, 3 people given it
3 effects reported, 2 unwanted, 1 wanted, by people using it, not a trial
Goal pages: Fat loss and metabolism, Gut health
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
TERN-601 was a pill meant to do what Ozempic does, without a shot. People lost weight on it. It was dropped after three people showed signs of possible liver damage. You cannot get it.
What people take it for
- Weight loss from a daily pill instead of a weekly shot.
- Less hunger.
What studies in people showed
There were two studies against a dummy pill. In the 28-day study, every dose led to more weight loss, and higher doses did more. People felt less hungry. In the 12-week study, doses of 500 mg and up led to clearly more weight loss. Its own authors called the weight loss modest. Then three people had liver enzyme rises that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug. The company stopped.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- In the studies, people felt less hungry and lost weight, more at higher doses.
The bad
- Three people had liver test changes pointing to possible liver damage. That ended the drug.
- Stomach side effects were common and got worse with dose.
Where these come from: Everything here is from the studies on this page. There are no forum reports, since the drug was never sold.
My bottom line
Two GLP-1 pills worked and got stopped over safety. The liver is the thing to watch with this kind of pill. If someone offers you this online, walk away.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Measured in people
Goals TERN-601 has been tested for in people, biggest studies first. We count only what the studies on this page say, so the real numbers may be higher.
- Losing weight3 people · 1 study
- Feeling less hungry3 people · 1 study
- Gut and digestion3 people · 1 study
33 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind TERN-601
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove TERN-601 does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about TERN-601 and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is TERN-601?
People lost weight on it in two studies, and more at higher doses. Then it was dropped after three people had liver test changes that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug.
This is the second GLP-1 pill of its kind on this page to work and then be stopped. Its report is unusually clear about why.
The first study ran 28 days. Every dose led to more weight loss than a dummy pill, and higher doses did more. People also felt less hungry, and their stomachs emptied more slowly, which is what this type of drug should do. The second study ran 12 weeks. Doses of 500 mg and up led to clearly more weight loss.
Then three people in the second study had rises in liver enzymes that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug. The company stopped developing it.
The authors put it plainly: modest weight loss that grew with dose, stomach side effects like the rest of this drug type, and liver findings that ended the program. Publishing that is more useful than quietly shelving it.
How does TERN-601 work?
TERN-601 is a small chemical pill, taken once a day, that switches on the GLP-1 receptor, the same target as Ozempic. Small chemicals grab the receptor differently from the body's own hormone, because they cannot copy its large grip. After that the effects are the same. It helps the body release insulin when blood sugar is high, lowers a hormone that raises blood sugar, slows the stomach and cuts appetite. In these studies, the researchers measured less hunger and slower stomach emptying along with the weight loss.
What have studies in people found about TERN-601?
Two studies in people, published together, both against a dummy pill. They show it worked, and they show the liver finding that ended it.
- Second study, 12 weeks: doses of 500 mg and up led to clearly more weight loss than a dummy pill.
- First study, 28 days: every dose led to more weight loss than a dummy pill, and higher doses did more.
- People felt less hungry and their stomachs emptied more slowly, as expected for this type of drug.
- Stomach side effects were like the rest of this drug type and got worse with dose.
- Three people in the second study had liver enzyme rises that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug.
- That is what ended the program, and the authors say so plainly.
What this does not tell you: Its own authors call the weight loss modest. The second study lasted only 12 weeks. That is short for weight loss in this drug type, where the approved drugs were tested for 68 to 72 weeks. Three liver cases is a small number, and it was enough to stop the program. That tells you how seriously the warning sign is taken, not how common it is. Nobody knows what the risk would have been in many more people, because the program ended first.
The state of the research
Look at the GLP-1 pills that are small chemicals as a group, and one thing stands out. Whether they worked was not the problem. Lotiglipron cut average blood sugar by up to 1.44 points in 901 people. It cut weight by up to 7.47 percent, against 1.84 percent on a dummy pill. Its study was stopped early for safety. TERN-601 led to more weight loss at every dose in its first study, and at 500 mg and up in its second. It was dropped after three people had liver enzyme rises that pointed to possible liver damage. Orforglipron was approved. So two of three serious drugs were stopped over the liver, not because they failed to work. That applies to the whole drug type. A swallowed chemical reaches the liver first, at the highest level it will hit anywhere in the body. That does not make every GLP-1 pill dangerous. It does mean liver checks are a real part of the story, not fine print.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
3people, across 1 study in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Obesity 2026 | 3 | 100% |
The whole total is one study of 3. Counts are the number of people each study on this page says it signed up. That includes studies that only watched people and gave nobody the compound. 1 more study in people gives no headcount and is not counted here. Studies still signing people up are left out, and only studies cited on this page are counted.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
All 2 sources here are studies in people.
- Study in people · done in people2100%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Sources here come from just two years, 2025 and 2026.
Too few different years on this page to draw a timeline.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Not approved
UK
Not approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Not approved in any of the four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 4 · how much does what
Nobody has tested different amounts in people
This chart would show how the effect changes as the amount goes up. For this compound, nobody has measured that in people. So we leave it empty. We will not borrow an animal chart and pretend it works the same in people.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Small molecule
- Molecule weight
- A small molecule. No mass asserted; no source loaded states one.
- Half-life
- Stated in words, not a numbersee the exact wording below
- Chain length
- None on file
Half-life as stated on file: Designed for once-daily oral dosing. No specific figure was resolved in the sources loaded.
No amino acid sequence is on file for TERN-601, which is expected: a small molecule is not built from amino acids.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2026Oral GLP-1RA TERN-601 for adults with obesity or overweight: placebo-controlled, multiple-ascending-dose, phase 1 and 2 studies
TERN-601 caused weight loss, then ended its own program with liver damage. There were two studies, one for 28 days and one for 12 weeks, both against a dummy pill. In the first, every dose led to more weight loss than the dummy pill, with less hunger and slower stomach emptying. In the second, doses of 500 mg and up led to clearly more weight loss by week 12. Three people had liver enzyme rises that pointed to liver damage from the drug, and it was dropped.
Phase 1 over 28 days and phase 2 over 12 weeks, both randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Phase 1 produced dose-dependent weight loss with statistically significant reductions against placebo at all doses, plus reduced appetite and delayed gastric emptying. Phase 2 produced significantly greater mean percentage weight loss at doses of 500 mg and above at week 12. Gastrointestinal adverse events were class-consistent and dose-related. Three participants in phase 2 experienced transaminase elevations consistent with potential drug-induced liver injury, and those liver safety findings led to discontinuation of clinical development.
- Study in people2025Evaluation of an oral small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, lotiglipron, for type 2 diabetes and obesity: a dose-ranging study
The same thing happened to a rival GLP-1 pill. Lotiglipron lowered blood sugar and weight in 901 people, then its study was stopped early for safety. Two separate drugs of this type have now been stopped over safety, not because they did not work. That is the pattern worth noticing. Making a GLP-1 pill that works is not the hard part. Making one that is safe has been.
The other half of the pattern. A separate oral small-molecule GLP-1 agonist, efficacious in 901 participants, whose phase 2 was terminated early for safety. Two independent programmes in the same class stopped for safety rather than for lack of effect.
Common questions
Has TERN-601 been tested in people?
Yes. 3 people given it across 1 completed trial cited here, 0 of which found nothing. People lost weight on it in two studies, and more at higher doses. Then it was dropped after three people had liver test changes that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug.
What is the TERN-601 dosage?
No human dose established. Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose. 1 completed trial, 3 people given it
Is TERN-601 FDA-approved?
Never approved. Work on it in people stopped after liver safety findings in mid-stage studies.
What happened to TERN-601?
It worked, and it was stopped. In the first study, every dose led to more weight loss, and higher doses did more. In the second, doses of 500 mg and up led to clearly more weight loss. Then three people had liver enzyme rises that pointed to possible liver damage from the drug, and the company stopped developing it.
Three people is not many. Why stop?
Because liver damage from drugs is one of the top reasons drugs get pulled after approval. A warning sign in a few hundred people could mean something much bigger once millions take it. Stopping early is the right call. It also means nobody found out what the real rate would have been.
Is an oral GLP-1 pill a bad idea then?
No. Orforglipron was approved, so the idea works. What these two drugs show is that the liver is the organ to watch for this type of pill. That makes sense. A swallowed chemical reaches the liver first, at the highest level it will hit anywhere in the body.